FCAT Writes and Third Grade FCAT Reading and Math

The St. Johns County School District received scores from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) today for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Writes assessment and for third-grade FCAT Reading and Math. On the three grades tested (fourth, eighth and 10th) in FCAT Writes, students continue to score above the state average on the writing assessments at all three grade levels. The same is true for third-grade FCAT Reading and Math.

On FCAT Writes, out of 67 districts in Florida, fourth-grade students were tied for second, eighth-grade students were tied for 12th and 10th-grade students were tied for 10th. Fourth graders were at 67 percent proficient and the state at 57 percent. Eighth graders were at 61 percent proficient with the state at 54 percent, and 10th graders were at 66 percent proficient with the state at 62 percent.

FCAT Writes is part of a statewide educational accountability program designed to measure students’ proficiency in writing in grades four, eight and 10. Students are required to write a response to a prompt on an assigned topic within a one-hour time period. This year, writing prompts were narrative for fourth graders, persuasive for eighth graders and expository for 10th graders. Essays were graded on quality of detail as well as usage including grammar, punctuation and spelling. Each essay was scored by two readers.

“I am very proud of the hard work and emphasis on writing by our students, teachers, school administration, parents and district staff,” said Superintendent Dr. Joseph Joyner.

St. Johns County ranked first in the state in third-grade FCAT Reading for the second consecutive year. In FCAT Reading, 76 percent of third graders were proficient compared to 57 percent for the state. FCAT Reading is part of a statewide educational accountability program designed to measure students’ proficiency in reading in grades three through 10.

St. Johns County tied for third in the state in third-grade FCAT Math. In FCAT Math, 71 percent of third graders were proficient compared to 58 percent for the state. Part of a statewide educational accountability program, FCAT Math is designed to measure students’ proficiency in math in grades three through 10.

“I am very pleased with the results on this year’s reading and math assessments thus far,” said added Joyner. “While these scores are reflective of only one grade level, I am encouraged by this trend and commend the efforts of our teachers and students.”

Scores for fourth through 10th grades in reading, math and science (fifth and eighth grades only) have not been issued by FLDOE yet. Additional information can be found at http://fcat.fldoe.org.